Union Hands Women's Basketball First Loss of Year, 69-60

By Mike DeVader, Reinhardt Director of Athletic Communications & Media
 
BARBOURVILLE, Ky. – The Bulldogs of Union (Ky.) handed No. 23 Reinhardt its first loss of the season on Saturday evening in another Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) battle, 69-60, as everything came together for the upset-minded home team in Kentucky.

The Eagles suffered their first setback of the year overall and in league play (10-1, 7-1 AAC) as the hosts made 3-pointers late (nine for the game) to pull away and keep Reinhardt from completing a comeback.

"Obviously, we are disappointed in the outcome of this game and credit Coach Dean and his team for planning and executing the game plan that put them on the right side of the score," head coach Toby Wagoner said. "Our struggles offensively were real. It's tough to win ball games when you can't score or turn it over. I feel like we had some good defensive possessions, but we couldn't sustain it long enough without fouling. We never got into a rhythm offensively and that starts with getting defensive stops. Transition wasn't there and we couldn't score.

"Make no mistake, this team fought and worked hard but the ball didn't bounce our way. For now, we have to put this one behind us and get ready for St. Andrews. We will get back late tonight; practice Sunday late morning and hit the road to North Carolina – play Monday at Noon and return to campus for break. We know this is an extremely hard stretch of the schedule (eight out of nine games on the road) with a lone home game in the month of January versus Bryan; toughest stretch of the year. We will focus on one game at a time and trust the process. Our ladies are winners and we will bounce back."

Despite having three playing in double-figures, the offense couldn't get the ball in the basket on a consistent basis (20-of-65 for 30.8 percent) as Amberlee Zeller led the way with 14 points and 11 rebounds on just 4-for-12 shooting.

Bethany Headrick added 13 points and nine boards, while Catherine Shope netted 10 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists.

Both offenses put up some points in the opening period as Reinhardt looked up at the scoreboard and found itself down by two, but the hometown team was able to regroup on the defensive end and slow Union to the tune of just nine points in the second period to take a 31-28 lead to the locker room.

The third quarter – which has been a key piece to the Eagles' success so far in 2019-20 – didn't go as planned as the Bulldogs flipped the script on their visitors and used that period to their advantage (23-16) for a 51-47 lead with just 10 minutes remaining in the contest.

Reinhardt got within two points once again on the first possession of the final period, but Union would go on an 8-0 run to get up by 10 points (59-49) as the Eagles wouldn't score another bucket until a Headrick 3-pointer with under four minutes left in the game – which would get close once again following a pair of Shope free throws to make it 60-55 with 2:33 left. 

The Bulldogs, however, would hit a couple shots from beyond the arc to get back ahead by double digits and take care of business.

Additionally, the Eagles – who outrebounded Union, 49-33 – had 23 turnovers in defeat.

The squad will have a chance to get the bad taste out of its mouth quickly as a trip to St. Andrews (N.C.) is up next on Monday afternoon at Noon.

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For more information on Reinhardt Women's Basketball, please click here.